Like the Moon
by The Cat Crusader
Summary: While at Cloud City, Boba Fett repeatedly bumps into a young girl with dreams of a life beyond Bespin. When he later finds her on his ship, will he drag her along for the ride and what impact will she leave on him... and vise versa?
1. In the Clouds

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but OC(s). Star Wars and such belongs to George Lucas.

**AN:** This idea has been floating around my head for a while. OC's name is pronounced 'fall - ah' and I should hope you know how to say 'zhan'. Some stuff may not be accurate as I bent it to my own twisted fancies or it was just plain ignored/I didn't know better. Enjoy!

_A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..._

**Star Wars:**

**Like the Moon**

_The Empire and the Rebels continue their fight for supremacy in the galaxy. However, on the planet of Bespin, Cloud City remains fairly unscathed to its people's relief. That is, until Darth Vader showed up. He, with his personal garrison of stormtroopers and famed bounty hunter Boba Fett, approach Lando Calrissian, Baron Administrator of the city to "help" them in capturing Han Solo and Luke Skywalker._

_Ignorant to the grander scheme of things, young Phalla Zhan wishes for action and adventure in her uneventful life. When the Imperials show up, it seems like a curse and a gift all wrapped up in one package. Gift because of the excitement and new conversation a friendly trooper offers. Curse because of her rather fearful and literal run-ins with Boba. _

_Little does she know that Fett is her ticket to the life she seeks and that she in turn will change the hunter's life forever. Will the stoic Mandalorian be willing to drag her along with him when he goes to deliver Jabba's new "wall ornament" or will she die before the _Slave I_ even exits Bespin's atmosphere..._

**#1 - In the Clouds**

Phalla sighed as she slathered bright green paint on her un-neatly bitten fingernails. Some of her annoyingly straight mousy brown hair fell in her face as she worked. Brushing the strands aside with the back of her had, which also happened to be the hand that held the nail polish brush, she smeared some of the paint on her forehead. She grated her slightly crooked teeth and tried vainly to wipe the polish from her skin with the sleeve of her white tunic. She only succeeded in staining her tunic.

Thoroughly irritated, the young woman roughly screwed the lid back on the small polish bottle and stormed through her bedroom to the balcony. Usually, she highly enjoyed painting her nails any variety of colors and patterns and comparing ideas with her few friends. However, it wasn't just her stained clothing that had gone wrong that day.

Phalla Zhan was an only child. She lived in Cloud City in the skies of Bespin. Life was quiet and quite boring. Predictable. Exactly how she had grown to hate it. She had always felt unsettled, always on the move, always looking for trouble.

She did not know what was wrong with her lately. She had begun tripping over her own two feet and knocking things over when she normally had the balance and grace of a Twi'lek dancer. The tiniest things would make her laugh in hysterics or cry uncontrollably or get extremely irritable when normally it took a lot to alter her mood. Her mother tried to reassure her that it was just hormonal imbalances and that she would be back to her normal self soon. Phalla was not convinced.

During her daily lessons, she could not keep her mind focused. She kept wondering what the worlds she learned about were really like. A preformatted lesson could only tell so much such as the names, brief descriptions of the landscape, people, culture, language, native vegetation and wildlife, historical relevance, and what have you. Her lessons couldn't give her the experiences of actually observing the people, hearing their language spoken fluently around her, smell the aromas or savor the tastes of their delicacies.

Phalla breathed in as the breeze hit her face, drying the forgotten green smudge on her forehead. Oh if she could go to those places for herself. To bad she, nor anyone else she knew, was not a pilot. She did not have many credits either so could not buy a place on the next ship out. Besides, she was only fifteen years old. She was too young to travel the galaxy alone.

The sun glinted in her wild green eyes, nearly the same hue as the green paint on her nails (and forehead). Her skin was pail, almost sickly, and she had no freckles or pink or red blemishes anywhere. She wore no jewelry other than a golden heart-shaped locket with her parents' pictures inside. She was so skinny that her father teased her about the wind blowing her away one of these days.

Finally, Phalla turned from the sky and headed back into the apartment. She knew that no mater how hard she wished or how much she dreamed, it would get her nowhere. She had to be realistic, as her mother often said. She had to live the life that was set before her and, even though she may not like it, she had no other choice but to accept it.

"Besides," she muttered quietly, going back to calmly painting her nails. "It's not like an adventure is just going to bump into me."

-x-

He could not recall having been to Bespin before, let alone Cloud City. Now that he was here, he planed never to come back again. Calrissian was not exactly his favorite person in the galaxy and there was hardly anything of interest here for him.

Boba Fett sat in the _Slave 1_'s pilot seat as he again looked over the mission briefing Vader had sent him prior to arriving. It seemed simple enough; wait for Solo and the princess to arrive, catch them with their proverbial trousers down, and use them as bait to lure in Luke Skywalker. Once Vader had Luke, then Fett could do as he pleased with Han and the Wookiee. However, if there was one thing Fett had learned over the years, it was that circumstances (or people for that matter) were usually never as simple as they appeared at face-value.

Having reviewed the plan several times, the bounty hunter finally switched off his computer and, thinking of nothing better to do, settled in his seat to get some rest before the next morning. As he removed his helmet in preparation for sleep, something seemed to creep up the seat and seep into the back of his mind. He could not describe the feeling as he stared at the ceiling and he frowned.

Boba knew not to ignore senses such as these as they usually meant that something was trying to sneak up on him. Something was going to happen in the very near future and he needed to be on his guard. However, the rational voice in his mind berated him on that note.

_Come on, Fett,_ he thought. _It's not like this mission is going to change my life._

-x-

How wrong they both were.

**AN:** Sorry for the lame irony.


	2. Masks

**#2 - Masks**

She had heard her parents quietly discussing the matter when they thought her asleep, of the Empire coming here to Cloud City, of the most feared bounty hunter and the Emperor's black clad Hand himself. The next day, she had seen the stormtroopers for herself. They marched in pairs all over the place up and down the hallways. She had heard of stormies and how ruthless they could be. What she did not know was that there were men behind those forever-frowning helmets.

Today, this is what she was to find out.

That after noon, Phalla was walking briskly down the passage way streets from school back to her apartment. She made it a point not to look up at the adults. Her backpack felt heavier than normal as she tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

She turned into an empty street, and felt a tap on her shoulder. Phalla could have jumped right out of her skin. When she saw who touched her, she very nearly did.

It was a stormtrooper. Her green eyes widened in fright and her feet froze in place. What had she done? Was he going to take her away? Was he going to kill her?

He made a noise like he was clearing his throat then asked, rather awkwardly, "Can you tell me which way to dock thirty-five?"

She blinked and almost laughed. But she still was not sure of him. Was that all he wanted, directions? Then she found her voice. "Yes-" She squeaked and gained control of herself. "Y-yeah, I know where that is."

When she did not continue, he tilted his head to one side. "And which way is it?" he prompted.

She felt her face flush. "Yeah, um... I'm bad with directions but I can... take you there." She could not stop a nervous smile from creasing her face.

The trooper visibly relaxed. "I'd appreciate it." Then he straightened up. "Sorry for startling you."

Phalla's nervous smile began to turn into a more genuine one as she nodded her forgiveness. She readjusted her pack and started off toward the docks.

They walked in silence, receiving many odd, fearful, and angry looks from those they passed. She was not sure what they were thinking, what with her leading an Imperial stormtrooper (or did they think that the trooper was leading her?) but she tried to seem casual.

The lack of conversation felt heavy on her shoulders. She wondered if the trooper would talk or if he even wanted to. He had seemed nice enough back in the corridor... then she remembered rule number one that her parents had taught her: do not talk to strangers. However, she _was_ sixteen. She was old enough to make her own choices, right?

"What's your name?" she asked, albeit tentatively.

He did not answer right away so she thought that maybe a _little girl_ like her was not allowed to know things like that. He surprised her by answering. "I'm Davin."

She looked up at him. "I'm Phalla."

The ice broken, the two began to talk more freely. Well, Phalla did most of the talking. She had lots of questions though some Davin could not answer. She asked him about where he came from, who his family was, what being in the Imperial militia was like. He gladly answered what he could, grateful for the distraction. Being an inside Rebellion spy was difficult, dangerous, and quite lonely.

As Phalla told him about her school and how she wished she could go to the places she learned about, Davin studied her features. She was young, about five years younger than he. She had bright and beautiful green eyes that showed so much of her expressions and emotions. Currently, they showed how excited she had grown speaking with him but also how frustrated she was.

"I've never even been to Bespin's surface," she was saying wistfully. "I'm tired of school and chores and this city. I wanna get out and actually _do_ something. Like... be a medic or a merchant or join a traveling circus or... I dunno, something more!"

He smiled under his helmet. "I was a lot like you not too long ago."

She looked up at him with those big curious green eyes. "How?"

Davin turned his head away. "That's why I joined the Imperial militia. I thought I would be doing something worthwhile..."

Phalla stared at him. This was not what she had expected a stormtrooper to be like. This trooper _regretted_ joining the Empire. She felt sorry for the poor guy and wondered if any of the other stormies felt that way. "You can't just leave?"

"No, not for a long time," he said distantly then seemed to snap back into reality. "Besides, I'm needed where I am."

She was about to ask what he meant when she realized that they were near the docking bays. She was sad that she had to say goodbye to her new friend so soon. She guessed she would not see him again and opened her mouth to voice her laments until Davin stopped her by kneeling beside her.

"Phalla," he began, reaching into a pouch attached to his belt. "I know you just met me but I want you to hold on to this for me. I found it on Tatooine and as far as I can gather, there's no other stone like this in this galaxy." He brought out an aqua green gem covered in rusty-colored dirt. Her eyes widened as he held it out to her. Light seemed to shimmer and glow from within itself. She took it from his gloved hand as if it were the most fragile thing in the world.

"I'm sure you understand that I can't see you again now but I will come back for this. I want you to know that I wish you the best of luck in how ever you choose to achieve your goals." He closed her fingers over the stone. "May the Force be with you, Phalla."

As Davin walked away, she did not quite understand what had just happened. She did not know the weight of what he had just said to her. She stared at where he had disappeared then at her closed hands. She felt she was holding something of great importance and meaning. She held it to her heart, determined to keep this gemstone safe until Davin came back for it.

"May the Force be with you too, Davin."

-x-

"And then he gave me this," Phalla was explaining to her best friend Tara Mendel, who stayed close to her side as they headed to class. She held out the green stone Davin had given her just yesterday.

Tara's brown eyes widened. "Wow, it's so pretty! Where'd he get it?"

"He said he found it on Tatooine," Phalla answered and put the gem back in her backpack. "He also said that he couldn't find another stone like it."

"I wonder where it came from..."

"I dunno." Phalla shrugged.

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Tara put on a gossiping teenager's grin. "I'll bet anything that he's gonna come back when you're eighteen and take you away and marry you."

Phalla's cheeks flushed. "Tara!"

"What? That's what guys do. They find a girl, give them a betro- betero- er, an engagement thing, and then eventually marry them. I'm just saying."

"Well, I thi- Omph!" Phalla grunted when she unexpectedly collided into something. She lost her balance and fell to the floor. Tara stopped and giggled but she soon froze. When Phalla looked up, she too froze.

A T-shaped visor glowered back down into her wide green eyes. Neither girls nor Mandalorian said anything for several long and frightening moments.

Fett briefly considered how best to continue. He could just keep walking or he could pull the kid up or he could shake them up a bit and send them running. If the two children had been boys, the later option would have been interesting.

As it was, these children were girls. He decided to combine a couple of options. Swiftly but not roughly, he reached down and pulled the girl by her shoulders up to her feet. She and her friend yelped when he grabbed her. Her stunning green eyes were shut tight, expecting a sharp reprimand. However, the bounty hunter simply kneeled down to her level. "Next time kid, you should pay more attention to your surroundings. It might save your life one day." His voice was low and gravelly. He stood. "And next time, I might not be so forgiving."

With that, Fett continued on his way down the corridor. Both Phalla and Tara stared after him, hearts racing. When he was gone, they looked to each other as if asking the other if that had really happened.

They both went through the day in silence.


	3. Fate Will Decide

**#3 - Fate Will Decide**

**AN:** Thank you rockforthecross74 and Caroline for your encouraging reviews. Okay, I've made Phalla 16. I feel better now, really I do.

As Phalla lay in bed, she fingered the stone Davin had given her, thinking of the events of the past couple days. She contemplated a little more deeply what Davin had said, about being in the Imperial army and personally to her.

_"...I wish you the best of luck in how ever you choose to achieve your goals..."_

What were her goals? She had said some passive things of what she wanted to do. Be a medic. A merchant. Join a circus. Now that she thought about it, joining a circus did not seem as desirable or glamorous an option. A merchant would be more interesting, buying and selling things. But then she would have to know about money and profit and other such things she could not even begin to understand. Her last idea was to be medical personnel. If she became a doctor or a nurse, she could save lives. And lose them. That thought made her frown. She understood death but had never witnessed it and never wanted to.

Besides, the medical world was run by droids.

So that pretty much diminished all of her ideas. Her last resort was to do what her parents did; work in the mines. She sunk low into the blankets. She did _not_ want to work at the mines.

Then Phalla's mind wandered to what had happened in the passageway that morning on the way to school. Her face flushed hot with embarrassment. She had literally bumped into one of the most notorious bounty hunters in the galaxy. Not only had she survived, but he had given her a _tip_. And Tara had seen everything too!

She wondered what he was doing here and if she would see Boba Fett again.

-x-

The next day was a weekend and Tara had asked Phalla to come over. However, Phalla's parents had caught wind of her being escorted by a stoormtrooper the other day and confined her to the apartment after demanding what she had done. Phalla tried to explain that the trooper had just been lost and asked her for directions. Her parents did not want her out by herself anymore until the Imperials left.

She remained confined to the apartment.

Phalla sat and sulked on the balcony. Her arms rested on the rail and her chin on her arms. She exhaled through her nose like an angry ronto, all but vaporizing the cloud she was glaring at. What was she supposed to do now?

She could sneak out... No, that would get her locked in her room until she turned thirty-five and deprive her taste buds of anything sweet until she was fifty. That and she might run into more troopers. She really did not want any more trouble. However...

Phalla's need to talk with her best friend overpowered her better judgment. And luckily for her, her parents had some things to finish up with elsewhere. She walked lightly and quickly through the corridors between her apartment and Tara's. She knew she was taking a big risk, but she felt that she had to talk to Tara. She tried to seem as casual as she could, not paying attention to anything or any one in particular.

That was her literal downfall.

Phalla crashed into something while turning a corner. Before she hit the ground, a gloved hand firmly took hold of her arm. When she looked up, it was _him_.

Fett resisted the urge to drop the girl and make an exasperated noise. This was the same kid he had tripped over just yesterday. Perhaps he did not make his point clear last time. "Are you attempting to stalk me?" he hissed.

"N-no," she squeaked. He suddenly let go of her and she stumbled back though she did not fall. Her green eyes never left his visor. "Please don't kill me, sir."

She was not the first to beg this of him and she certainly would not be the last. Fortunately for her, she was only a child and not one of his targets. "You've got your whole life ahead of you, kid. Don't waste it." That said, Boba continued on to answer Vader's summons. Han would soon get what was coming to him...

Phalla watched him walk away until he was gone. Her heart was pounding and she seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. She sucked in a greedy breath and regained herself.

_"You've got your whole life ahead of you kid. Don't waste it."_

A light bulb seemed to blink on in Phalla's mind as the bounty hunter's words echoed in her ears. She knew what she had to do now. She just was not sure how to do it.

-x-

"I have to leave Tara. Now."

Her best friend shook her head, dark curls bobbing. "But how? You haven't finished school and you don't even have any credits."

Phalla wrinkled her nose and her green eyes sparked with frustration. "I know that. But I can't stay. Davin and _him_ have both told me I'm destined for better things, for adventure!" By _him_, Phalla meant Fett.

Tara shook her head again. "Really Phalla, you're scaring me." Her dark brown eyes were full of concern. "We're both too young to do anything right now. A famous person just gave you some advice. That's all."

Phalla was not going to give up her dreams so easily. She _was_ going to leave Cloud City and she _was_ going to do it. Soon. All she needed now was a plan, a ship, some creds... The problem was she did not have any of those things.

She said goodbye to Tara and hurried home. She darted back down the streets, but stopped when she reached a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of the docking bays. There was a strange ship coming in. She thought it looked similar to an ironing appliance. It landed and within moments, Boba Fett exited it and was met by two stormtroopers who escorted him out of her view.

Another light bulb blinked on in Phalla's mind. _Now_ she had a plan.


	4. Dream's Insanity

**#4 - A Dream's Insanity**

**AN:** Thank you rockforthecross74 for reviewing. I'm scooting right along now that I changed Phalla's age. I is happier.

That evening, Phalla rushed about her room, grabbing anything she thought she might need, and stuffing her backpack. When she picked it up to test its weight, she was annoyed to find it too heavy. Dumping everything onto her bed, she reanalyzed the contents. Some changes of clothes, some datapads containing her lessons for the year and her favorite stories, all fifteen bottles of her nail polish collection, her stuffed nerf Sniffly (who she was convinced since three years of age that he had an incurable cold), all twenty-five of the credit chips she owned, and the aqua green stone Davin had given her.

After several minutes, she opted to leave the datapads and all but two changes of clothes and her five favorite polish colors. She tried her pack's weight again and found it much better. She figured she could get more datapads and nail polish later. The clothes and credits (and Sniffly) she needed most. Then, after taking some other necessary items from the 'fresher, she got an empty 'pad and scribbled up a note to her parents.

_Dear mom and dad,_

_I'm sorry I left you like this but I've been wanting to go for a while and now seems like the best time. Please don't look for me. I'll be fine. I promise I'll come visit you. Please tell Tara I'll miss her._

_Goodbye for now with much love and may the Force be with you,_

_Phalla_

_PS) If a someone comes looking for me to take back a gemstone he gave me, tell them I still have it and that I'll come to them to give it back. Someday._

She read over her note and the realization of what she planned to do began to really sink in. She was leaving her parents, her home, the only life she had ever known. She was going to sneak aboard Boba Fett's ship and sneak back off once he landed. She was going to find a job to save up the credits to buy a ship and see the galaxy. It would take time, years maybe, but she would come back.

She also realized something else. Though she had spoken with Davin and heard his voice, she had never seen his face. She wondered for the first time what he looked like under his helmet. Was he handsome? Was he ugly? Was he average? Was he purely human? She wanted to know, but knew she would have to wait. She would find him again one day.

Shouldering her pack, Phalla left the apartment for the last time. She took a deep breath. Her first steps on her unknown journey. She did not look back.

-x-

Around the docks, the hallways were pretty empty. This just made her task easier.

Phalla made her way to the bay where she had seen Fett's ship. To her surprise, the way was open and unguarded. Though cautiously, she snuck through the passages and outside. Before her now sat his ship. The hatch was open. Odd. This was too easy. Very slowly, she tiptoed toward the hull.

Her hair was whipped around by the wind and her eyes glistened in the evening sun. She looked up at the strange ship. She had heard that this was the only ship of its kind left. A Fire... spray? Yes, a Firespray. The _Slave 1_. She stared at her warped reflection on its weather-beaten surface. Then she glanced down at her locket. She clutched it firmly.

"I promise I'll come back," she whispered then lightly walked up the ramp and began searching for the cargo hold. She dared not touch anything and hid behind a small stack of crates just large enough to conceal her. She settled in, her heart beating wildly.

-x-

Transporting Solo to Jabba was Fett's only problem now. Vader could deal with the others as he saw fit.

But something did not feel right. Boba had that odd feeling again, like he did before this whole mess at Cloud City started. He had been in hyperspace for almost three standard hours and the feeling had only grown stronger.

Giving in to his paranoia, Fett had _Slave's_ computer scan the interior of the ship. To his surprise (and it was extremely hard to surprise him) there was another life form aboard. It was a small one but still a life form. And it was in the cargo hold. Preparing for the worst, he ventured into the hold, weapons on stand-by.

At first survey, there was nothing out of the ordinary. But searching with the heat-seeking radar in his helmet, he picked up something behind the crates of ammunition and spare parts and rations.

He checked the charge on his blaster rifle silently then approached the crates just as silently, rifle aimed and ready. In one swift and fluid motion, he flipped over the top crates and put himself between the space behind the crates and the way out and pointed the barrel of his rifle in the face of...

...a familiar skinny girl with the widest and greenest eyes he had ever seen.

He blinked.

No, it couldn't be.

Phalla's gaze fluttered from the black hole of the gun barrel to the T-shaped visor glaring at her. Her heart very nearly stopped until it started sinking. He had found her. She was dead. She knew it.

To her further humiliation, tears suddenly stung her eyes, blurring her vision. She violently tried to blink them away, wanting to go out bravely. Despite her efforts, a sob chocked its way out and the first wave of tears trickled down her cheeks.

Fett resisted rolling his eyes. How in the hells did this kid get on his ship in the first place? And why? "Stand up," he ordered, slightly gesturing upwards with his blaster rifle. She obediently scrambled to her feet, clinging to a backpack. Her eyes never left his helmet. "What exactly do you think you're doing on my ship?" he demanded.

Her lower lip trembled, but she did not cry. Yet, anyway. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered, her voice squeaking at first. "I don't mean any trouble, really. I just- I mean, I was only... Well, you see-"

"Just spit it out, girl," he said gruffly, losing his patients, but lowering his rifle.

Phalla just wished he would get it over with and kill her, but she answered him. "I wanted to get out of Cloud City. And when you landed I was going to leave," she blurted. "I know I should've asked you first but-"

He held up a hand for her to stop. He had heard enough. She bit her lip. She expected him to slap her across the face. He did not. He considered this new development. He could not just turn around and head back to Bespin. He was on a tight schedule. But he really did not want to have to drag this kid around with him until he could go back either.

_You've just made my life a whole lot more difficult kid,_ he thought, suppressing a string of curses in a few select languages.


	5. Settling In

**#5 - Settling In**

**AN:** Hardly anyone is reviewing... (sad face) How am I supposed to know if anybody actually likes this or not? If you have a problem with this story, please (politely) tell me what it is and offer how I could fix it. I do listen to advice.

I am grateful to you though rockforthecross74. You've stuck with me so far.

No mater how he looked at it, Fett only had the two options; take the kid back now or later. He suppressed the urge to sigh in defeat and slung his rifle over his shoulder. "If you're going to follow me, you're going to stay where I can see you." With that, he headed for the door, but stopped just shy of exiting. "Come on."

Phalla stumbled toward him, still unsure of his intentions. Was he going to lock her up? Was he going to sell her into the slave market? She hated not knowing what was going on around her. To her surprise, Fett led her to the cockpit. He pointed to the co-pilot chair.

"Sit," he ordered. She slunk into the seat, hugging her backpack to her chest. "You're going to stay there until I tell you otherwise and you are _not going to touch anything_. Understand?" he instructed.

She nodded vigorously. Yeah right, she was going to try and touch Boba Fett's stuff and see what happened. Sure.

Convinced of her obedience (she had done everything he had told her to so far), Boba settled back into the pilot's seat and rechecked the rest of his ship incase the kid had brought along some friends. To his relief, she had not.

Now that the initial threat had passed, curiosity began to nibble on his mind. Using _Slave's_ computer, he hacked into Cloud City's mainframe and began scanning through the census. He found her with relative ease. Phalla Zhan. Sixteen years of age. No siblings. No known health issues. No criminal record. Recently reported missing.

Zhan... as in _Tibra_ Zhan? Fett did not know that Jabba's ex-financier had an extended family. He checked her parents' bios. Her father was Tibra's brother. He glanced at Phalla, double-checking her physique. No family resemblance. That might come in handy.

Handy for what exactly? He did not plan on taking her with him into Jabba's palace. However, he was not about to leave her in the detention area on the _Slave 1_ either. It would be convenient but that was no way to treat a child, no matter how annoying they were. Though if she were one of his targets, it would be a different story.

Yet, Phalla was not in any way being a pest. She was sitting quietly and still, clinging to her backpack as if her life were contained inside, staring off at nothing. Her cheeks were still damp with the tears of fright she had shed earlier and the whites of her eyes were tinted pink. She was very bedraggled looking and shaken to say the least.

"Have you had anything to eat recently?" Boba asked after a while.

Phalla flinched at the sound of the bounty hunter's gravely voice slicing into her troubled thoughts. She turned her still frightened eyes to him and shook her head. She watched him reach into a pouch on his belt and bring out what she assumed was a ration bar. She was reluctant to take it, but figured that he had not made a move to hurt her yet so why poison her now?

She took a nibble. It was very hard, dry and it tasted like... salty herbs. She did not like it. "What is it?" She tried not to sound disgusted and failed.

Fett smirked at her distaste. He remembered the first time he had tried _haarshun_. He had reacted the same way. Jango too had been amused... _No, don't go down that road again,_ Boba scolded himself. _Not now, anyway..._ He was disturbed by how easily she had mentally disarmed him like that. He distracted himself by answering her question. "It's _haarshun_, a Mandelorian ration bread." It was supposed to be soaked in water before eating, but he left that out. He did not exactly have any water on his person that she could use anyway.

Phalla glanced in his direction. "Hay-are... chun?" she tried to sound out the new word.

"Close enough."

She studied the bar again, making a face. "Do you eat this stuff all the time?"

"When I can't fix a proper meal, yes."

_He can cook?_ Phalla desperately tried to shake some rather ridiculous images from her mind to keep from giggling. _Of course he does if he lives on his own... unless he always eats out. I'm sure he's rich enough... _"Is there anything you _don't _do?" she wondered.

"I don't pester my elders with questions," Fett replied pointedly. He could not remember having talked quite this much in a while. His throat was beginning to tinggle.

She looked away, face flushing. "Sorry."

Silence became an almost visible haze between them as Phalla continued to nibble on the _haarshun_. No matter how much she did not like it, she was still hungry and grateful that Fett had given it to her in the first place so ate it without complaint. She only finished half of it and she felt full. She put the rest in a pocket on her backpack for later.

Now with nothing to do, she watched the stars streak by in hyperspace. Now that she looked at it, it fascinated her. She had never been inside a ship before, let alone traveled in space. It was amazing.

She also realized how very tired she was. It had been close to supper time when she came aboard so now it must be bed time. Though she tried to stay awake, her eyelids grew all the heavier.

Boba kept an eye on the girl as she nodded off. Perhaps she would not be as much of a nuisance as he first concluded. However he had a feeling that this was going to turn out to be a very long trip.

**AN:** I hope the flow isn't too funky with it switching randomly. Do you think I made Boba open up too much too fast?


	6. A Small Deal

**#6 - A Deal**

Boba was relieved that his passenger had slept for a good three hours straight (and she didn't snore). Unfortunately, the inevitable occurred and Phalla woke up rather slowly. From what he could see, she did not wake up feeling quite so well. She groaned, rubbing weakly at her droopy eyes.

"Is there a 'fresher I can use?" she asked. She sounded queasy.

"Down the hall. Last door on the left," Fett instructed. He hoped she had not come down suddenly with some sort of flu.

Phalla slid from the co-pilot's seat, still clinging to her backpack, and shuffled away. She was in there for almost an hour. Boba thought about checking on her to see if she was critically ill (perhaps she was allergic to something in _haarshun_. He knew for a fact that it was not spoiled), but she came out before he could get up, looking very green around the gills.

Phalla did notice the tilt of his helmet that prompted the obvious question. "I think it's space sickness or something," she mumbled. "I've never traveled before."

Ah, that explained it. Hyperspace was a funny thing. Sometimes those that were not used to the jump often did suffer nausea the first few times. After a moment of thought, Fett brought out a flask of a mild brandy and held it out to her. "Take one or two sips," he said. "And don't spit it out." Fett was not much of a drinker, but usually kept something of the sort around for medicinal purposes.

She reluctantly took the flask and did as she was told. She forced herself to swallow. "Yugh!" she exclaimed, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "What _is_ that?"

"Medicine," he answered. "If you can keep that down, I'll give you some water."

She swallowed again to keep the bile rising in her throat from reaching her mouth. Despite her nausea, she was thirsty. After about twenty minutes, Fett went back to the cargo hold and returned to the cockpit with a bottle of water.

"Drink slowly," he said.

Phalla did so but eagerly. Not long after that, she ate a bit more of her _haarshun_ and fell back asleep.

Boba allowed himself the luxury of a weary sigh. He was not used to dealing with stowaways in this manner. Normally, he would have just shot the _shabuir,_ but this kid was different. She was only a child and he had no desire to kill a defenseless child. No matter what their ethical or blood origins, children were the future of the galaxy.

And _this _kid still had parents. He needed to bring her back to them, payment or none.

_Three hours later..._

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"...are we there yet?"

"No."

"...how about now?"

"No."

"...now?"

"Say anything more and you'll spend the rest of your stay chained in a holding cell."

Phalla immediately shut up. She almost whacked herself. She knew better than _that_. It was the same on all of the holovids. She considered herself lucky that Boba had not done worse than snap at her. Though she was surprised that he had done so rather calmly.

The only sound in the cockpit now was the whine of the engines and hum of the computer systems. She could not stand it any longer. Hesitantly, she asked, "Where are we going anyway?"

Fett did not reply for so long that Phalla thought he was getting ready to follow through with his earlier threat. He surprised her by muttering one word, "Tatooine."

_Tatooine_. That was where Davin had found the stone he had given her. Maybe she could find out more about it. She brought out the aqua green stone and gazed at it, turning it over and over between her fingers. What exactly was this stone? What made it glow? Why couldn't Davin find more?

Fett was also interested in her stone. Though the scanner in his helmet could not determine what it was or find a match on the holonet. Perhaps it was a fake gem? But then that did not explain why he could not learn the substance. However, he was not curious enough to ask where she had gotten it. He was just glad that she had shut up for the time being.

However, Phalla was not too fond of the silence. After all, she was with Boba Fett, the most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy. She knew now that he was not exactly the talking type. But still, she wondered if any of the stories she had heard were true. She did have some questions for him.

Finally, she chanced to ask him one. "Are you human?"

She thought she heard him chuckle. It was a strange sound, almost grating. "That's for me to know and you to wonder about for the rest of your life."

She was not going to give up that easily. "How old are you?"

"Three hundred and seventy-five years," was the first number that came to mind.

Phalla stared at him in amazement. "Really?"

"Of course not. Now will you shut up?"

"Maybe I can guess..."

He was at the end of his rope. Though Boba had reservations concerning certain treatment of certain children, he had never spent much time around them. What he did know or thought he knew was being brought to light in Phalla. He wished he could get some rest, but did not want to leave her unattended so warded off sleep.

He would admit that she was amusing at times. And now was getting to be not one of those times. Persistent nagging was an especially prominent personality at the moment. How did her parents put up with this?

"What do I have to do to make you be quiet?" he demanded.

Phalla flinched at his stony tone of voice. Thoughts of a small, dark, and cold cell and chains filled her head. She sank low in her seat, green eyes widening fearfully. She knew now how close she was to pushing him over the edge if he was not already there. She gulped. "No prison or chains?" she replied uncertainly.

Slowly, Fett nodded. "Then you'd better get that tongue under control, girl."

She nodded rapidly.

Hours passed and Phalla eventually fell asleep again. Boba too decided to rest while he could. Propping his feet up on the consol, minding the controls, he braced his hands behind his head. He quickly fell asleep.


	7. Bumpy Landing

**#7 - Bumpy Landing**

Fett got a solid five hours of rest before an insistent beeping grabbed his attention. Removing his feet from the consol, he checked the navigation systems. At last, they were at Tatooine. He brought _Slave 1_ out of hyperspace.

With the desert planet now in sight, Boba was tempted to let Phalla continue to sleep until he landed. Then an ominous red blip showed up on the radar. He brought up an image.

_Ah shab..._

It was the _IG-2000_, that blasted assassin droid IG-88's ship. It must be here for Solo. Fett narrowed his eyes and armed the ion cannon and waited to see what '88 would do. _IG-2000_ moved in closer, but kept weapons powered down. Of course, it could not shoot and risk damaging Han.

Fett had no qualms about destroying a droid.

He banked hard right, jolting Phalla awake. She gripped the sides of her seat. "What's happening?" she asked. She received no answer.

Fett took aim on IG-88's ship, ignoring the hail it was sending. _IG-2000_ went up in flames. _Serves the _chakaar_ right,_ he thought.

Phalla stared at the wreckage as it was pulled in by the planet's gravity field then looked to Boba. "What was that?"

"Nothing important," he answered then added, "Now we're here."

She relaxed a bit and sat up straighter to get a better view of the planet. "Whoa..." She was at a loss for words. From here, Tatooine looked beautiful, like a polished sandstone orb. She could only imagine what the surface was like with sand and dunes as far as the eye could see.

Boba shook his head. This poor kid was in for a real wake-up call.

-x-

Landing was the easy part. Trying to figure out just what to do with his "passenger" was the hard part. Fett knew that he had to take her with him, but he did not want people asking awkward questions. And he did not want Phalla talking to anyone of consequence either.

As he readied Solo for transport, he got an idea. He came back to the cockpit and held something out to her. She looked at it then up at him questioningly. "Put it on," he ordered.

Phalla took the item and held it up so that she could see it clearly. She frowned. "You want me to wear _this_?"

"Don't like the color?" he asked sarcastically. It was actually a very nice color; a pink tinted mauv lined with real gold.

Phalla shook her head and handed the pleasure slave outfit back to the bounty hunter. "I am _not_ wearing this."

He knew she might respond this way. "If you don't, you won't last five minutes in Jabba's court."

She paled some. He thought that would change her mind. She grudgingly went to the refresher to change. It did not take her long and when she came out, she made it clear that she was extremely uncomfortable.

He was not alright with this either. A girl her age should not be dressed in such a manner, but this was for her own safety. He motioned for her to come nearer. She did so, nearly her entire body flushing. When she saw the collar he held and chain attached to it, she shied away.

"No way," she protested. "You promised no chains if I stayed quiet."

"And I kept my word, didn't I? This is just for appearances," he said evenly and waited.

Phalla gave in. She shuddered at the metal collar's icy touch, shiver-bumps appearing on her skin. Fett then held out his hand to her. She wondered what he wanted until she realized she was still holding her backpack. Reluctantly, she gave it to him. She watched as he put it in a hidden compartment in the wall then fastened her chain to his belt.

"Your name is Dawn," he began, confusing her. "I picked you up on Florin three months ago. You've been a slave all your life. You can't tell anyone who you really are or where you come from."

Phalla did not understand what he was saying. "Why not? What's wrong with my name?"

Fett debated answering. He did not have to tell her anything, but figured it would be a good idea. It would stop her nagging and show her just what she had gotten herself into. "Jabba doesn't think very highly of your uncle."

"Why doesn't Jabba like my uncle? How do you know my uncle?"

"I looked you up on Bespin's current population census and checked your family lineage. Now shut up and pay attention." She obeyed. "Tibra Zhan was Jabba's most trusted financier until he got too powerful. Jabba had him imprisoned, but Tibra escaped. No one knows where he is."

Phalla was confused. She knew her uncle Tibra. He had come just this year to her sixteenth life day. He had given her the locket that she wore now. Her parents had always told her that he worked for a private corporation. She supposed that was true. She also knew that her parents were not very fond of uncle Tibra. Now she knew why. He had been involved with the top gangster in the galaxy.

Fett pulled her from her thoughts. "Come on," he said and began leading her through the cramped ship and down the ramp. The landing pad was a blaze with sunlight and heat. Phalla had to squint to see anything after the darkness of _Slave 1_.

There was a wide open door with three aliens coming toward them; one was a Weequay, another was a Gamorean, and the other was the ugliest male Twi'lek she had ever seen. The trio stopped in front of them and the Twi'lek bowed. Fett responded with a curt nod. The Twi'lek said something in his native language and eyed Phalla strangely before gesturing for the two other aliens with him to enter the ship.

Phalla decided that she did not like this Twi'lek.

The Weequay and Gamorean soon came back out with the man frozen in carbonite. Phalla wondered not for the first time who he was and why they had done this to him. The Twi'lek then led them all into the door and into Jabba's palace.

The first thing that hit Phalla was the dankness and the smell. It took all she had to continue walking and keep a straight face. How anyone could live like this was beyond her.

They walked down endlessly winding hallways until they came to a large room filled with dozens of aliens and some humans. An acrid smell made up of alcohol and spices and other things Phalla did not care to identify hung thickly in the air. She fought desperately not to cough or gag.

The Twi'lek stopped them near the center of the large room. Now in front of them sat the number one ugliest thing Phalla had ever seen: a Hutt, Jabba the Hutt. Phalla had heard of Hutts, but stories could never have prepared her for Jabba. The slug was huge and slimy and was munching on small creatures that were still alive. There were a few forlorn girls some years older than she was of a few different species sitting around him, all with collars and chains and outfits similar to her own.

_Real slaves_, she thought sadly.

The Twi'lek spoke to Jabba and the Hutt smiled viciously, glancing at the frozen man. He then began speaking to Fett. She flinched when he spoke, but made herself pay attention. Fett would reply in Basic while Jabba spoke in Huttese. As she watched and listened, the conversation seemed to turn into an argument. Eventually, they seemed to come to an understanding and the Weequay and Gamorean took the man in carbonite away.

Jabba then turned his sickly yellow eyes onto her. He said something to Fett. In response, the bounty hunter tugged on her chain, causing her to stumble. She fell against his side and he securely took hold of her upper arm. She stared up at him, bewildered and frightened.

"This one is not for sale," Fett said icily.

Phalla knew what the slug must want but did not want to register it. Unwittingly, her green eyes made contact with his. Her blood ran cold as her innocence was further shattered. Finally, it broke through: Jabba wanted her to join his harem of girls under his tail.

Then a wave of calm seeped in. Boba was protecting her, just as he said he would. As long as he was with her, no one could harm her.

Jabba glared at them before conceding. He said something, gesturing back toward the door they had entered in. Fett nodded and let go of her. He then headed back toward the door, Phalla following. She wondered if they were going back to the ship.

However, he took her to what appeared to be a guestroom. It was not much better than the rest of the palace, rocky walls and dusty floor, but Phalla was relieved that it was fairly dry and did not reek. To her further relief, Fett removed her collar. She looked up at his T-shaped visor.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

He set the collar and chain on a table by the low couch in the main area of the room before answering. "Jabba has paid me to stay here for a little while. I suggest you make yourself comfortable until I can take you home."

Phalla was going to protest, but thought better of it. Fett would finish his business here soon enough then take her home, just as he had promised.

**AN: **To get an idea ofPhalla's outfit, go to and search Nabile (she's a purple/pink Ixi). Go ahead; call me a copy-cat.


	8. A Slave's Life

**#8 - A Slave's Life**

The first few days were not as bad as they could have been. Phalla was pleased that the occupants of Jabba's palace avoided her. She figured Fett had something to do with it.

Boba was certainly not what Phalla had expected. She had heard that he was a cold and ruthless killer, yet he had not killed her. She had heard that he would take the wives and children of his bounties and sell them to the slave traders for a little extra profit, but he had not done so with her. She had heard that he did nothing for free for anyone and here he was caring for her, promising to take her home once his business was finished here. She wished that she could know more about him, about who he was behind the mask.

Just like Davin.

Now, as she lay in bed, Phalla thought about her parents and Tara. They must be so worried about her. She wished that she could tell them she was okay and that she was coming home soon.

The sheets were rough and smelled stale and musty as if they had never been used. They probably never had been. Boba had said that this was his private guest room that Jabba had assigned him. She saw that he sat in a chair, legs propped up on a table and hands behind his head when he slept. At least, she thought he was asleep. She wondered why he did that. He was doing so now. She could see him from were she was through the door (or rather a rounded opening in the wall). Perhaps he was just being polite in letting her have the bed. Then why didn't he sleep on the couch? That armor must be very uncomfortable to sleep in.

She fell asleep pondering these things.

It felt like she had only been asleep for a few minutes when she felt a gloved hand on her shoulder. She did not open her eyes.

"Get up," she heard Fett's gravelly voice say in a tone that conveyed he was not in the mood for games.

She sat up and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I have some business away from the palace so you'll be staying with Jabba's slaves," he explained.

Phalla was suddenly wide awake, visions of being surrounded by the horrid smells and greedy men, all alone in Jabba's main chamber. "No way, I'm not-"

"I made it very clear that you were not to be touched so you will be staying in the slaves' quarters," Fett cut her off.

She had no idea what that would be like, but it must be better than being out _there_. She nodded and got out of bed. "What about my things?" she asked, referring to her backpack.

"Slaves don't have possessions," he said. "They will be safe in my ship."

She wanted to protest, but held back. It probably would not do any good to argue. It had not so far anyway. She stiffly allowed him to put the collar on her again, shivering at the chill running up her spine. Fett held the chain rather than clip it to his belt. He headed out of the room, Phalla following.

He led her through the dank, twisting hallways until they came to a door. It was not the door to Jabba's main party room. And it was guarded by two Gamoreans on either side. Fett showed a small keycard to them. One nodded and typed on a panel by the door and it opened. Phalla's eyes widened.

This was the prettiest room she had seen here so far. It was a large room with several luxurious sofas and cushions and low tables with bowls of fruit. There were some doors off to one side, most likely refreshers. The walls were still stony, but did not seem quite so damp. Several slave girls looked up at the two, some fearfully, others curiously. They were all dressed as scantily as Phalla, some even more so.

She was pulled from her observation when Boba removed her collar and chain. She looked to him. "When will you be back?" she asked quietly.

"A few days, at the least," he answered then turned and began walking away. Phalla watched him leave. She wanted to wave, but knew he most likely would not return the gesture. Besides, the door closed before she had a chance to.

_He didn't even say goodbye,_ Phalla thought wistfully, still staring at the closed door.

A light tapping on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. When she looked, it was a large-bodied woman humanoid with a plump face. She wore bands of cloth across her upper body and something that resembled a grass skirt. A headdress of various exotic flowers and leaves completed her look. The woman smiled. "Hello cub," she greeted. "You call me Yarna. What your name?"

Phalla thought it a bit odd that she had called her a cub, but managed a weak, friendly smile. "I'm..." She remembered Fett's instructions. "I'm Dawn. Good to meet you Yarna."

Yarna took Phalla's hands eagerly. "Come, I show you around."

Yarna introduced her to the other girls and showed her the other rooms. There were 'freshers, but the rest of the rooms were walk-in closets filled with many colors and sizes of pleasure slave and dancer outfits. They were all silky to the touch and some were beaded with real gemstones.

After that, Yarna insisted that she eat something. "You so skinny," she said. "There nothing to please men."

Phalla did not want to try and think about what men liked in a girl. She ate anyway. The fruits were delicious. She spent the rest of the day chatting with the slave girls and watching them come and go as they were called or brought back upon finishing their business. She dared not ask where they had been. She felt that she did not want to know.

A couple of the girls did not come back. She had a sickening feeling she knew why. She made no real friends with any of them.

She learned that Yarna was considered an unspoken matriarch and second mother among the slave girls. She was Jabba's favorite dancer and she was granted the privilege to be set free once she worked off her debt.

It was hard to get to sleep that night despite the comfy pillows. Phalla could not stop wondering about Boba, where he had gone, what he was doing. She wished he had brought her along, but she knew she would get in his way. She sighed.

This was going to be a long couple of days.

-x-

And a long couple days it was. Days stretched into a week. Phalla was growing anxious. Where was he? When was he coming back? When was he going to take her home? She was sitting alone, sunk into one of the cushions on the floor. Whenever the dors opened, she perked up, hoping to see him there, but it never was him. She looked at nothing, lost in worried thought.

Yarna d'al' Gargan had been watching "Dawn" the whole week. She had come to the assumption that she was not one of Jabba's new slaves. She had seen Boba Fett, Jabba's favorite bounty hunter, drop her off. Perhaps she was his? She wondered why Dawn was so distant from everyone. She seemed a very pleasant girl yet very troubled. Yarna approached her as she sat all alone. "Why so sad, cubling?" she asked gently.

Phalla was slightly startled, but relaxed. "I'm worried about... my master," she answered, taking a second to remember to refer to Boba as her "master". "He's been gone longer than he said he would be."

"Ah," Yarna nodded sympathetically. "Master Boba Fett good to you?"

"Good enough I guess," Phalla answered with a shrug. "He, uh... got me out of a pretty bad place and he says that he'll free me when he's done here." Well, that was not too much of a lie. She felt bad having to lie to Yarna. She was so nice to her.

Yarna thought she understood how "Dawn" felt. All things considered, Jabba was generous toward her, more so than to his other slaves. He had even granted her freedom once she had served her time under him. She was grateful to him, but that was about it for her. Perhaps "Dawn" genuinely loved her master to some degree. She tried to reassure the poor girl. "Master Boba Fett come back, he always does."

"Yeah," Phalla nodded to herself. "He always comes back..."

-x-

Boba Fett did come back.

Phalla was glad to see him and asked so many questions when he brought her back to his room. To her disappointment (though she had expected it), he did not answer most of them.

Days turned into weeks. Fett came and went, but always came back. Weeks turned into months. Phalla was getting homesick, but kept her spirits up by reminding herself that Boba was going to take her back... but when?

Now Phalla was back in bed and Fett was in his chair. She still wanted to know where he had been and what he had been doing. She also wondered if his business here was done. She figured he would not answer that, but just take her back in the morning. However, she did not see any harm in asking anyway.

Slowly, she pushed off the blankets and sat up, watching him. He appeared to be asleep, holding perfectly still in the dim moonlight. He looked so eerie. She almost changed her mind about asking him. What if he was asleep? Would he be mad if she woke him up? She decided to take that chance. He had not done anything to her yet so why start now?

Quietly, she crawled over the bed until she reached the foot. That was as far as Phalla dared to go. She sat on the end of the bed, legs crossed neatly. She braced her hands on her knees and stared hopefully at Fett.

He did not move.

"Mr. Fett, sir...?" Her voice squeaked and she swallowed. "Sir?"

He still remained unmoving, even when he spoke. "What do you want, kid?"

He did sound irritated. Phalla swallowed again. "W-when are you going to be done here?"

She thought she heard him sigh quietly. He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees, and tilted his helmeted head in her direction. "Things will be different when you go back," he said.

Phalla was confused. "What do you mean?"

Fett paused before continuing. He knew that she would ask eventually. "Cloud City is gone."

It took her a few minutes to comprehend what he had just said. She blinked several times, emotions passing over her face until it settled on disbelief. "W-what do you mean?"

"When Darth Vader left the city, Calrission closed down the mines and moved the people to Bespin's surface," he explained calmly.

Phalla was relieved to know that her parents and Tara were alright, but she was disturbed to know that the only home she had ever known was gone. She nodded in understanding. "So," she murmured. "Do you know where my parents are?"

He nodded an affirmative.

She paused before asking, "Could I contact them?"

Boba did not reply for so long that she began to assume the answer was no. He surprised her by saying, "We'll see."

Gradually, Phalla smiled in the darkness at Fett. She decided that Boba Fett was not always the ruthless killer that his stories claimed him to be. She liked him.

**AN:** I wasn't sure of Yarna's personality so I just made it up. Don't know who she is? Watch _Return of the Jedi_ very closely (go on, you got plenty of time before I update again). You should see her and an unfortunate green Twi'lek dancing. Or you can just look her up in "Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters" by Andy Mangels.


	9. Dragons

**#9 -** **Dragons**

Now Phalla was very homesick.

Though she did not mind being in the slaves' quarters or left alone in Fett's room when he did not want her to be present, she hated having to sit out in Jabba's main chamber, especially when Fett left her unattended. Though she was chained to the end of Jabba's platform, she was safe. But she felt better when Boba was near. She would catch a glimpse of him in the crowd and, once in a while, she would one of the slave girls try to flirt with him.

That made Phalla feel... not jealous, heavens forbid. She would feel defensive. She would scowl at the stupid girl, hoping that she would see her disapproval, though she knew that she probably did not. Besides, she was sure that Fett could take care of himself. The slave girls, other than Yarna, thought of almost nothing but pleasing men. She thought Boba deserved better than a slave. She thought he deserved a nice, strong woman that would respect and love the man behind the helmet, not admire him for his armor.

However, it was none of Phalla's business who Fett fraternized with. She was simply in his care until he returned her home. She hoped it would not be much longer.

But for now, she had something else to hold her attention.

It was Crumb, Jabba's blue lizard monkey. Crumb seemed to have taken a liking to Phalla. When she was near enough, he would leap onto her shoulders or head and chatter and gesture endlessly. He would fiddle with her hair, trying to convince her of new styles. She always refused. She would miss him when she finally had to leave. Maybe she could convince her parents to let her have one... no. She would be grounded for life (and possibly during the afterlife) when she got home.

-x-

Boba Fett was gone again.

This time, he was gone nearly a month. Phalla was less worried and more curious as she waited. The only person she felt that she could honestly confide in was Yarna. She wished that she had someone else to talk to, but all of the other slave girls had nothing interesting to say.

When Fett returned, Phalla was shocked to learn that he had captured a _live_ krayt dragon. She found this out by listening to the shouts and jeers of onlookers as the rancor pit was opened to allow them to watch. She had witnessed Jabba feed unfortunate souls to the beast before, and now she watched as it dueled the giant lizard.

She managed to push herself to the edge so that she could peer straight down into the pit. Boba was right behind her, also watching.

The gate of the rancor pit separated the animals for the moment. They roared angrily, the rancor beating on the steel and the dragon responding by head-butting the gate. The voices of the spectators egged them on into a frenzy.

Soon the gate was raised and the beasts lunged, the rancor grabbing the dragon's open jaws. The crowd grew louder and pressed harder to see. Phalla was shoved by a Gran that wanted a better view. She tried to push back, but he was much stronger than she was. Suddenly, the weight was gone and she found herself leaning against a sturdy leg. She looked up to see Boba between her and the Gran. He did not appear to be looking her, but she offered a quick, thankful grin before focusing back on the battle below.

The krayt dragon had the rancor by a wrist. The rancor howled painfully, beating the head of the giant lizard with its free hand. Eventually, the dragon let go only for the rancor to shove it to the dusty floor. Blood spattered from the rancor's wound and from the dragon's mouth.

Phalla grimaced. The crowed cheered.

The dragon writhed under the grip until it broke free and smashed its tail against its opponent's back. The rancor stumbled and the dragon lunged. With the dragon tearing into its back, the rancor roared and tried to roll over. Dark blood stained the sandy floor. The dragon was dislodged from its back and, before it could retaliate, was caught by the throat.

Phalla made a disappointed sound. She had begun to favor the krayt dragon over the rancor.

The rancor raked its claws down the dragon's chest. Bone was revealed. The dragon shrieked and lashed out with its fore claws. It only left some shallow scratches. The rancor continued to tear and bite its victim until it no longer had the strength to stand.

The giant lizard hit the ground with a sickening thud. Blood pooled around it as the rancor began a deathwatch. The crowed quieted in anticipation. Phalla held her breath.

The beast panted and fought to regain its footing, but it was no use. Its claws slid through the bloodied dirt. Its roars of pain turned to whimpers of exhaustion.

As Phalla watched the dying animal, a strange feeling seemed to rise from the pit of her stomach to her throat. Swallowing did nothing to make it go away. Her green eyes glazed and she bit her lower lip to keep from making a noise. She tried to remind herself that it was just an animal, but she could not control whatever it was that was coming over her.

The krayt dragon gave a final moan before shuddering then lying still. The rancor roared triumphantly and began to dig into its latest meal. The crowed went wild, a majority celebrating a won bet.

In the excitement, Phalla and Boba were the only ones that did not move. Phalla grew numb to everything else around her, eyes stinging with unshed tears. She had no clue as to what was coming over her, but it was unbearable. She felt alone. All alone. She longed desperately for the loving, protective arms of her mother and father...

Boba could see that something in the girl had finally snapped. It was time to go. Instead of lightly tugging on the chain, he touched her quivering shoulders and helped her to her feet. He led her out of the bustling room, ignoring stares from onlookers, and took her back to his room. He removed the collar and made her sit on the couch.

He watched as she breathed deeply, her breaths growing ragged and uneven. She did not want to cry again in front of Boba Fett.

She failed.

Phalla buried her face in her hands, sobbing violently. Fett watched stiffly, allowing her to let it out of her system. He too could recall a time that he had broken down, a long time ago...

"It-it's too much..." she sobbed. "Too much... I-I can't..."

"_Udesii ad'ika,_" Boba said quietly, lightly setting his hand on the top of her head. He knew that something like this would happen. He should have taken the kid back the minute he had found her on his ship. _I'm such a di'kut, _he berated himself. "Phalla, look up."

After a minute, she did so. She did not know what he had said to her a moment ago, but his voice had been oddly calming. Her eyes were tinted pink and her cheeks were moist.

"I don't want you to watch any more executions. Do you understand?"

She sniffled and nodded.

"Good. Now, go get some rest."

Phalla obeyed. As she walked away, Boba determined to get that girl home within the month. He absently glanced at the crono display in one corner of his HUD. _Fierfek_, it had been almost a year now. No wonder she had an emotional breakdown. She needed to get back with her parents soon. What was he thinking in bring her here in the first place?

Now there was no hiding it; he had grown used to having her around. She was hard not to like, and that was what concerned him. "Am I going soft?" he asked himself. He must be if he let her stay on his ship.

As Phalla lie in bed, she wiped her face dry and frowned. She felt humiliated for breaking down in front Fett like that. _I'm not a baby anymore,_ she thought. _I'm never going to cry like that again._ She determined that she would never let death, or anything else, bother her from this point on.

-x-

The following day, Phalla felt much better. She reentered Jabba's main chamber with a sense of purpose and strength. She was not going to let anything or anyone affect her now.

Fett stood with her all day, carefully observing her. Today, she seemed very determined about something. She sat like a stone through out the day, a somewhat comical emotionless expression plastered to her face. She did not smile, grimace, or flinch at all. He wondered what had changed.

That evening, when he took her back to his room, she relaxed a bit, but stayed quiet. He continued to watch her closely the next day, and the next day, and the next. Phalla just sat there, almost as stoic as him.

All things considered, Boba was impressed. Perhaps her outburst was just a one-time occurrence.

Now, he watched as Phalla sat on the end of the bed in his room, her face screwed up in concentration. She was painting her nails a vibrant shade of pink. He gave her a once over. She had taken good care of the outfit he had given her to ware for the time being despite her loathing of it; he could not see a stain or tare anywhere. She had grown a bit too. She was a few inches taller and she had filled out a little so that she was not quite so skinny. Her mousy hair was neatly combed and reached her lower back.

Boba paused before finally speaking. "How much longer do you think you can wait?" he asked.

Phalla paused her work to look up at his helmet. "Do you mean wait here before I go home?" she asked. He nodded. She glanced back down at her fingers thoughtfully then back up at him. "As long as I have to," she answered.

Her big green eyes reflected that she dearly missed her parents, but was not lying. Phalla was strong. That was good, but was she disciplined enough to keep it up? "Alright," Fett agreed. "But if you have another outburst like that, I'm shipping you back to Bespin."

Phalla nodded, understanding. She did want to go home, but not yet. She had an odd feeling that something was going to happen and she wanted to see.


	10. Bigger Picture

**#10 - Bigger Picture**

**AN:** I am so sorry for the long wait, but I'm sure you all understand with me being in college. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll be posting the next one really soon and possibly the one after that too.

The next evening, Phalla witnessed Bib Fortuna (the name of the ugly Twi'lek) approach Jabba. He had a horrified looking green Twi'lek girl with him. Phalla watched as he talked to the Hutt and indicated toward the poor girl. She stood very still, staring down at her sandaled feet. Phalla wished she knew what was being said, but from what she could observe, Fortuna was trying to get the frightened girl to do or say something. The green Twi'lek girl refused.

Eventually, she was taken away. Phalla felt sorry for the poor girl but tried to banish her from her mind. However, the next day, she saw the girl again. Their eyes met and they seemed to have a silent and quick conversation. They respected each other and agreed to be allies if the need ever arose.

-x-

Not long after that, some droids appeared before Jabba with a message from a Luke Skywalker who claimed to be a Jedi Knight. Phalla had heard of the Jedi. They were supposed to be a dead Force-sensitive sect that carried a unique and mysterious weapon known as a lightsaber. The Hutt laughed at the proposed bargain and ordered that the droids be put to work in his palace.

No less than a week latter, a strange bounty hunter came in with a rather disgruntled looking Wookiee. After a brief stand-off, the Wookiee was taken away and the strange bounty hunter was allowed to stay. She watched him all day and eventually witnessed Fett talk to him. At least, she assumed that they were talking. She was too far away to hear what they were saying.

That evening, Fett took Phalla back to his room, giving her instructions to stay there and not to try anything funny. "Things may get rough if all goes according to plan and I don't want you getting in the way." He then left without another word. Phalla had no idea what to think. What did he mean by "things may get rough if all goes according to plan"? What plan?

She sighed, supposing that it was none of her business. Maybe it had something to do with what he was talking about with that other bounty hunter. She could only wonder as she lounged on the couch, waiting for morning and for Boba to come back.

-x-

_Panic._

_That was all that was happening around her. She pushed through the crowds of panicking people, trying to find the only one that she felt safe around. "Mr. Fett!" she called, trying to be heard over the hoard of crazy beings. "Mr. Fett! Boba!"_

_She received no answer._

_The panic beginning to take hold of her, she started running as fast as she could through the masses, searching for the bounty hunter. She was suddenly knocked off of her feet and sent sprawling across the dirty ground. Pain seared through her chest as she cried out. "Boba! Help me!"_

_She still got no response._

_When she dared open her eyes, the stampede of people was gone. She was left to float alone in the empty void of space. It never crossed her mind that she should not be able to breath. Dim stars glowed sleepily all around her, but she could not move. She was isolated. Alone._

_He was not coming to save her this time._

Phalla gasped as her green eyes flew open. A T-shaped visor glared back down at her. She could not help but grin and, before she could think and stop herself, she pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around him. "You came back!" she said happily.

Fett did not know what to make of this random outburst, but did not wrench himself free of her surprisingly tight grip. "Of course I did," he said rather flatly then paused, waiting for her to let go. She did not. So he carefully took hold of her arms and removed her himself. She seemed to snap out of whatever had possessed her and her cheeks flushed.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I... don't know what came over me." She lied. She knew exactly what had happened. She had thought she was still trapped in her nightmare and that he had finally appeared to save her.

Fett let go of her arms and decided to forget that ever happened. Phalla also decided to forget it.

When Fett leashed her and took her to Jabba's main chambers, Phalla noticed a new slave woman chained to the slug's side. She was not too young, but not old either. Phalla wondered who she was. She determined to find out when Fett chained her to Jabba's platform.

Phalla studied the woman. Her hair was long and gorgeous. Her eyes were dark and held resentment and frustration and worry. Her body was stiff and she was not emphasizing herself. Phalla scooted closer, careful to avoid touching the Hutt's tail. However, Crumb thought that jumping on her shoulders at that moment would be entertaining. He screeched and chattered happily, tugging at her hair and clothes. The noise attracted the woman's attention. Phalla tried to gently pry the lizard monkey from her head, but that did not work out as well as she would have liked. The woman could not help but smile and anyone that happened to be watching laughed.

Phalla finally grabbed hold of Crumb and roughly, though not in a mean way, rubbed his head. He squawked what he hoped was an insult and scampered back up to his perch, muttering to himself.

She glanced at the woman and managed an awkward grin. They never did get a chance to actually speak to each other.

-x-

That night, Phalla was asleep and Boba was nearly asleep when there was a rather loud knocking on the door. Extremely irritated, Fett stood, unlocked the door, set his rifle on high power and aimed. "Come in," he growled. He had not turned the lights on.

The door opened to reveal a flood of light from the hallway and two equally disgruntled Gamorean guards hauling a familiar figure between them. It was Princess Leia, Jabba's newest victim. They threw her to the floor in his room and one of the guards grunted, "A reward from Jabba. Enjoy her." With that, the door shut and they were gone. The room darkened again.

With his infrared sensors in his helmet, Fett watched as Leia stumbled in the darkness to find a place as far away from him as possible, finding a wall and pressing herself against it. She would fight him if she had to, but knew that she most likely would not win. She summoned a threat anyway.

"If you dare touch me," she said breathlessly. "And one of us is going to die."

Fett could have laughed, but he was in too foul a mood at the moment. He had no intention of doing anything with the princess, but he was not about to refuse a gift from Jabba either. Insulting employers was never a good idea.

Before he could respond, a sleepy voice murmured, "Mr. Fett? What's going on?"

Both he and Leia looked to see Phalla in the doorway to the bedchamber looking rather groggy. _Great,_ he thought._ The noise must have woken her._ "Go back to bed," he ordered.

Phalla glanced from the shapes of the slave woman to Boba. "But-"

"Now," he said a little louder, making sure that she knew that he was in no mood for games.

Phalla was still confused, but did as she was told. She jumped back into bed and covered her head with the covers, though she did not go to sleep.

Leia could see some with the moonlight coming through the single window. She had seen the girl in the doorway. It had been the same girl that she had seen earlier that day. So was she Fett's girl?

By now, he had lowered his rifle and was looking back at Leia. "I'm not going to touch you."

She did not believe him. "You're not?" she questioned. Not that she wanted him to, but why did he not?

Fett wandered back to the chair he had been sitting in before. Leia moved when he did, keeping herself as far away from him as possible. He made himself comfortable once again, his blaster rifle resting across his lap. "Sex between those not married is immoral," he said evenly, by way of explanation.

That was true. "Yeah, so's rape," she added tersely.

He nodded slightly. "So is rape."

Then why was there another much younger girl with him? Was she another reward of Jabba's? "Then who's in there?" she asked, indicating toward the bed.

"Unfinished business," Fett muttered. "She is none of your concern."

"Is she your significant other?" Leia pressed.

He could have scoffed. "I said that she is none of your concern," he repeated, lowering his voice dangerously.

The princess was intimidated, but determined. She held her tongue for the moment and just watched the bounty hunter. She had heard as many rumors about him as the next person. Here she was, almost face to face with him, and all he was doing was just sitting there, helmeted head bowed slightly, blaster rifle across his lap. He was certainly not what she had expected him to be... so far, at least.

For Boba, the silence was comfortable. He knew that Phalla was not asleep (there was really nothing that he could do about that) and he knew that Organa would probably not stop pestering him unless he did something drastic. What exactly, he was still contemplating. He had no intentions of molesting her. Perhaps holding the barrel of his rifle in her face and growling something dark would shut her up...

And then she broke the quiet. "So we just sit here. All night."

He debated answering, but did so. "The stone floor is cold. You are welcome to use the couch if you wish," he said. "The bed is taken."

Leia's skepticism was all too obvious. "And _you_ are just going to sit there. All night."

"I am a man of my word. I said that I won't touch you," he replied. "So I will not touch you in any way, shape, or form. Sleep if you like. Or don't. I don't care."

Silence again fell on the room. It lasted much longer this time, so Fett allowed himself to begin to fall asleep. However, when he was half way there, the princess spoke up again. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded. "Why are you working for them?"

By 'them', he assumed that she was referring to the Empire. He shifted slightly and heard something in his shoulder pop. "Over half a million credits. That's what Vader and the Hutt have paid me for my services."

"Is it just about money? We could pay you," Leia said, hoping to strike a deal. "If you help us get out of here, we'll pay you-"

"How much?" Though he was not even vaguely interested, he was intrigued by her audacity to attempt to bribe him.

"More than even you could imagine."

"I can imagine quite a bit."

The conversation was starting to give Leia a sense of déjà vu. "You'll get it."

"No," he growled, crushing her hopes. "What your Rebellion is doing is morally wrong."

"Morally wrong?" she repeated, appalled.

From there, a much deeper discussion (more like argument) about the Rebellion and Han Solo ensued. Phalla listened to every word. She knew very little of politics and certain laws, but what either said made sense. Yes, the Empire was the lawful government. Yes, the Rebels were the ones that started the war. Each side thought that they were right. And yet, the Empire oppressed. The Rebels smuggled.

Who was in the wrong?

Then the slave woman compared Fett to Han, the man in carbonite. He got very angry. Phalla heard him slam his boots on the floor when he stood and he raised his voice to a volume that she had never heard him use. She heard him list off all the evils that Han had done. The woman agreed with him, then told of the things he had done for the Rebellion and for her personally.

"I _know_ him like you don't, and I've seen him take risks for things he believes in that I doubt you would have the courage to take," she spat. "So explain to me why you work for the top gangster in the galaxy and why there is a young girl in your bed."

Fett had lost his temper once already tonight and he really did not want to lose it again. His throat was getting sore and he wanted Leia to shut up and Phalla to sleep. Unfortunately, it seemed that the only way he was going to get anything he wanted tonight was to talk. He took a slow, deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment. Carefully, he sat back in his chair. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Organa still scowling at him. "As I said before, the girl is unfinished business that I plan to take care of in the near future."

"But _who_ is she?" Leia pressed.

He refused to let his voice grow above an imposing growl. "She's a stowaway that I intend to dispose of once my work here is done. I have not touched her either. Ask her yourself in the morning." He watched her expression change from frustration to confusion. He knew that more questions were coming so decided to attempt to stop them. "As for why I work with the Hutt, it is simple: necessity makes allies. Once your Rebellion comes to an end, I expect the Empire will deal with Jabba. He is less of a threat than you."

Indicatively, he propped his legs up on the low table and rested one hand behind his head. The other loosely gripped his rifle. "Now if you don't mind, I'm tired and I want that girl to go to sleep so I suggest you do the same." He said no more.

Leia still had things that she wanted to ask, but knew that he had had enough. She did not want to push him to the edge again. Besides, he had a point. It was late and she realized how tired she was herself. She glanced from the bed to Fett to the couch before silently getting onto it and making herself as comfortable as she could.

Meanwhile, Phalla was still wide awake. She had stopped listening after Boba had said that he planned to "dispose of" her. What did he mean by that? Was she really that much of a burden to him? She had thought that he had liked her to some degree.

She guessed now that she was wrong as tears leaked from her eyes to the pillow.

-x-

When Phalla awoke, it had not even felt like she had slept at all. She sat up and glanced out into the main room. The slave woman was gone and Fett was in his chair, still as a statue. What she had heard last night came back and she sank back into the sheets. She felt terrible. Did he really hate her? Had he never liked her? When she had broken down, he had seemed so kind she dared say. He had been kind in allowing her to live in the first place when he had discovered her on his ship.

Now, she did not know what to think of him.

Maybe it had all been an act. Maybe he was just torturing her, getting some sick entertainment out of it. Maybe she had made a terrible mistake in choosing his ship to stow away on. Maybe, the next chance she got, she should just leave and find some other way to get back home.

What she did not know was that Fett was watching her closely. He could see that she was upset about something. Perhaps he had scared her last night with his outburst. He waited for her to get up, but the minutes ticked by and she did not move. Perhaps she was sick.

Silently, he stood and walked toward the bed. He looked down and saw that she was hiding under the covers. "Phalla," he said quietly. She did not move. "Phalla, look at me."

After a pause, she slowly pulled the sheets away from her face and reluctantly brought her green eyes to his helmet. They were blood-shot and puffy. _Shab._ She had been crying. He watched her sit up and her gaze fell from him. He tilted his head slightly, wondering if he had really scared her that badly last night.

Phalla did not want to look at him anymore. She wondered what he was trying to do. "What do you want?" she asked very quietly.

"I want you to look at me and tell me what is the matter with you," Fett answered.

She finally did look up. She stared intently into the T-visor. "You don't like me," she said softly.

He blinked. Was that all? She thought he didn't like her? Well, did he? He found the answer was... yes, he did like her. He tilted his head slightly to one side. "Stand up," he instructed.

Confused, Phalla did as he asked. She watched as he put a gloved hand on her shoulder then stared back up at his helmet.

"_Udesii ad'ika_," he repeated the strange words he had said to her seeming forever ago. Like before, they caused her to feel calm as she gazed up at him. "Did I say that I didn't like you?"

She realized that he had not. "No."

"Then don't assume anything unless you have proof."

Slowly, Phalla smiled.

-x-

A couple days later, a strange cloaked figure came into Jabba's chamber. Fortuna seemed unsure of himself as he lead the cloaked figure in and spoke with Jabba. Phalla searched out Fett and noticed that he seemed more rigid than he usually did. The cloaked figure speaking caught her attention.

"You will bring Solo and the Wookiee to me," he said rather calmly yet authoritatively, pulling back his hood. Phalla realized that it was the Jedi she had seen on the recording the two droids had shown to Jabba. She glanced over at the woman and saw how intently she was watching this scene. She could also tell that Jabba was not impressed with this man, but the man insisted that Jabba release this Solo and the Wookiee.

That was his literal downfall.

Phalla watched as he and an unfortunate Gamorean guard fell into the rancor pit when Jabba opened the floor. She knew that this was not going to end well.


	11. The Pit

**#11 - The Pit**

The scene that had played out had been a shocking one for Phalla.

The rancor had immediately devoured the Gamorean and had tried to also eat the young man. He fought back and had eventually won by killing the rancor. He had thrown a skull at the gate control panel and it had fallen on the unfortunate beast. The slave woman had been very pleased that the man had survived.

The place went into an uproar and Jabba shouted directions at anyone that could carry them out. It was another standard hour before Fett came to Phalla and took hold of her chain. "Come on, we're going for a little cruse," he said, attaching the chain to his belt.

She tilted her head curiously. "Cruse?" she echoed. "Where're we going?"

She was not surprised when he only answered her by following the crowd heading for the door. She followed him down the halls to the docking bays. She had only been here once before when they had first come here nearly a year ago. Blast, had it really been that long? They all began boarding a large desert sail barge. Everyone seemed excited about something.

Phalla looked to her 'master' curiously. "What's happening?" she asked, hoping for an answer.

And he gave her one. "We're going to the Dune Sea to feed some prisoners to a sarlacc that lives out there." He then turned his visor to her. "I want you to stay away from the windows. Understand?"

She nodded.

Within the hour, they were off. Though Phalla stayed away from the windows, she could still see out of the open ones. There was sand as far as the eye could see. The sky seemed so blue against the earthy tones, especially because it was so dark in the barge.

Fett left her chained to his belt this time. He stood between her and the crowd of beings, cradling his blaster as usual. She stood still as she watched the other people on the barge wander about until she saw the slave woman. She was gazing out a window, a worried and longing look in her eyes. Phalla wanted desperately to speak with her. She glanced back at Fett, wondering if he would care.

Swallowing, Phalla glanced down at the chain to see how far she could go then back at the woman, judging the distance. The woman had some slack chain as well. Maybe she could get her to come closer...

Phalla moved away from Fett and closer to the slave woman. She waited to catch her attention, not knowing that Fett was watching her closely. Soon the woman noticed her and came nearer, though still looked worried. She was taller than Phalla. "What do you want, young one?" she asked softly.

"Who are you?" Phalla asked. "I've been wondering ever since I first saw you. You're too pretty to be a slave." It was true. She did not carry herself like the other slave girls did. She had an air about her that Phalla could not distinguish.

She smiled. "Thank you," she said. "No, I'm not really a slave. I'm princess Leia Organa."

Princess Organa? Phalla knew of her. She knew that she helped the Rebellion and that her home planet had been destroyed. How that had happened, she did not know. What was she doing here and dressed like this? Was she trying to get information by working for Jabba? And if so, why was she telling her?

Leia could see the confusion in the girl's lovely green eyes. "I came to rescue Han Solo. He was frozen in carbonite." She stopped and glanced back out the window. "Then things didn't go so well."

"I'm sorry," Phalla murmured then remembered herself and curtsied. "Your highness."

Leia laughed lightly. "No need for that, young one. What is your name?"

"I'm Dawn," she answered, though she still felt bad about lying about her name. She then felt a tug on her neck and glanced back at Fett. He slightly moved his head, silently ordering her back. Phalla looked back at the princess. "It was nice speaking with you, your highness."

"Likewise, Dawn," Leia said, but touched her shoulder when she turned to go back to Fett. "Dawn, if anything happens, I want you to get out of here. I promise I'll come and get you."

Phalla was not sure what she was talking about, but nodded. "A-alright, thank you." She came back to Fett. She could almost feel his gaze on her even though it appeared that he was not looking at her. She wondered if she was in trouble.

"What did she say?" he asked, but not in an angry tone.

Phalla hesitated. "She told me that if anything happened to get out of here."

He nodded lightly. "Good advice," he commented then looked down at her. "Now stay here."

"Yes sir," she mumbled, staring at her sandaled feet.

Soon enough, they reached the Pit of Carkoon. Phalla watched Fett as he watched out the window. She paid attention to his body language and listened to what was being said around her. The Jedi gave Jabba one last chance to free them before he threatened death. Not but a minute later, the passengers aboard were gasping and talking all at once. Someone screamed. She grew nervous. What was happening?

Suddenly, Fett detached her chain and dropped it. "Remember that advice kid," he growled before cocking his blaster and disappearing into the crowd. Phalla blinked. She dared to look out the window. She watched him jet to the scooner that the prisoners had come loose on. She pressed herself against the wall, away from the crowd, and continued to watch the battle ensuing outside.

Several beings fell into a deep pit in the sand. She could barely hear the squealing of the feasting sarlacc over the panicking people. She never took her eyes off of her 'master'.

Suddenly, the lights went out and everyone began turning on each other. Phalla knew she had to get out now. Gathering up her chain, she began searching for a way out. It did not take her too long to find an emergency exit. She struggled with the door, but got it open. No one took any notice of her.

No one that is, except for a certain lizard monkey.

Crumb climbed up her leg and clung to her back, chattering loudly. "Okay, okay, you can stay," Phalla said and quickly patted his head. "But if I get in trouble, it's you fault." She then clambered down the ladder and dropped onto the sand. She began running to the nearest dune to hide behind it. Crumb made quiet brooding noises as she went. She wondered why he had left Jabba's side. Maybe he sensed the need to escape as well.

Phalla plodded up the dune, but stopped when she reached the top to look back. She wished that she had not. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched Fett go flying out of control. He impacted the side of the barge and tumbled down the sand pit and into the waiting mouth of the sarlacc.

Her heart could have stopped. "Boba! No!" she screamed. Her knees gave out and she fell to the sand. Crumb perched on her shoulder and clung to her head, burying his face in her hair. Tears burned her eyes as she lost interest in what was happening.

Her guardian was gone. There was no one left to save her now. She was alone in the desert, left to roast in the sun and wither away to nothing. Fett would not be coming back this time.

An explosion yanked her from her grieving thoughts. The barge was bursting into flames. Crumb squawked and leaped from her shoulder, sliding down the dune. Phalla still had sense enough to duck as well. She slid down after him then scooped him up, shielding him with herself. Smoldering debris flew overhead and soon the sickening scent of burning flesh and fuel filled the air.

The tears ran down her cheeks as Phalla let go of Crumb and crawled back up the dune to see what had happened. There was nothing left but wreckage and dead bodies, some not even whole. One of the scooners that had been escorting the barge was now half buried in sand on the other side of the pit. As for the sarlacc, it purred happily with a full stomach.

In contrast, Phalla's stomach was soon emptied. After she vomited, she collapsed to the sand and darkness engulfed her.


	12. Holding On

**#12 - Holding On**

Phalla awoke to Crumb patting her cheek. The sky had grown crimson and orange with the setting suns. She weakly brushed Crumb away from her face and painfully sat up. Her mouth was dry and sticky at the same time. She shuddered, everything coming back. Sand stuck to her face where her cheeks had been moist by tears. She was still grieved with the loss of her protector, but she was still alive. She remembered Leia's words.

_I promise I'll come and get you._

Phalla hoped desperately that she would.

In the mean time, she needed to find some way of taking care of herself and Crumb. She glanced at him. He stared back her. She was surprised by how hopeless and depressed he looked. She smiled sadly and gently rubbed his head. "You miss you master too?" she murmured hoarsely, causing her to cough. She held her sore throat and grimaced. Deciding not to speak unless she had to, she motioned for Crumb to hop on. He did so and together, they headed for the scooner.

_In the least, it will provide some shelter,_ Phalla thought. She figured that she should check it for anything else useful. A weapon maybe? She did find a blaster and a first-aid box in a compartment in the scooner. She opened it to find a couple bottles of water, ration bars, bandages and anything else to care for a wound, flairs, a flashlight, matches, emergency blankets and a collapsible shelter. She would have to drink sparingly and make it last.

Phalla set to work in setting up the shelter. It was a small tent, just big enough for a couple people. She pushed it against the scooner for extra protection and stored the kit inside. She wondered if she should go through the wreckage of the barge and see what else she could find. One glance and she thought better of it, remembering her painfully empty stomach.

Crumb scampered into the tent and peeked into the kit, muttering curiously. Phalla followed him in and zipped the tent shut. She took a pair of tweezers and attempted to pick the lock on her collar. She failed. However, when Crumb had a go at it, it clicked and she slipped it off. "Thanks Crumb," she said and petted his head. He made a strange purring-like noise and arched into her hand.

Phalla saved the chain and brought out a ration bar. She broke it in half and gave one half to Crumb. "Make it last," she warned and nibbled at her own. She was not hungry though so saved it for later. Crumb did not heed her warning. She then sipped some water and offered him some.

As the suns disappeared, so did the heat. Phalla's slave outfit was certainly not meant to keep her warm. She wrapped an emergency blanket around herself. It rattled and crackled loudly whenever she moved it. Crumb eventually joined her in the blanket. He snuggled in her lap and soon fell asleep. She sighed, wishing she could fall asleep that easily.

Her mind was filled with images of what had happened that day and what might happen to her now. She had heard plenty of Tusken Raiders and how deadly they could be. Not to mention other deadly desert-dwelling creatures. She hoped that she would meet none.

She tried to keep herself from thinking of Fett, but she could not. She missed him greatly. He had been her only hope of getting home, of being safe in this harsh place. Not only that, but she had grown to love him. Not romantically, heavens forbid, but something different. Not exactly like a second father. What had she begun to see him as?

She sighed again. _I guess it doesn't matter now,_ she thought glumly. _He's gone..._

Unwittingly, she soon fell asleep while sitting up pondering these things.


	13. Bump in the Night

**#13 - Bump in the Night**

For weeks Phalla was left to survive on her own and care for Crumb. The ration bars ran out quickly (though she saved one as some sort of last resort) and she was forced to insane measures to get sustenance. Scavengers stayed away from the area because of the sarlaac so she wandered the sun-baked bodies and picked what she could from them. The flesh from the beings aboard Jabba's barge had been turned into jerky from the dry desert heat. Phalla tried not to thing about what she was really eating. Crumb seemed to enjoy it though.

Night after night, she sat up, waiting and watching for Organa's return. She wondered if she even remembered her. She wondered if she was doomed to join the bodies that littered the sand around her.

Almost every time she closed her eyes, she was haunted with visions of what had happened to Boba Fett. The great bounty hunter was gone, just like that. Along with all of his stories and secrets. Along with her way home. Along with her protector and... friend, she dared say.

Phalla sighed. Not that it mattered now whether they had really been friends or not. He was gone and she would never see him again.

-x-

For once, Phalla's sleep was dreamless until she heard Crumb moaning very loudly. She forced her eyes to part just enough to see if he was okay. Crumb seemed to be sleeping peacefully. So what was that moaning coming from?

She grew wide awake, thinking it could be Tusken Raiders. She had not seen any of those creatures yet, but still. She grabbed for the blaster she had found and for the one in the kit. The sound and her movement disturbed the lizard monkey and he made it clear that he was not happy at being woken up until Phalla pressed a hand to his mouth. "Shhh!" she hissed. "Danger." He went still after that.

Phalla listened. The moaning turned to roars and piercing shrieks. She covered her ears and cried out in fear. "Leave me alone!" she screamed.

The roaring came to a stop with a rather wet sounding explosion and rumble of a jet. Something splattered down on the part of the shelter that was exposed and a new smell filled the air; rotten flesh. Crumb grabbed the metal blanket from her and covered himself up in it, shaking like a leaf. Phalla then heard the jet engine sound sputter out, a muffled thud, a yell, then a pained groan.

Someone was out there.

Taking a blaster, she dared leave the tent. There was more organic debris and a thin trail of smoke rose from the sarlaac's pit. Her heart pounded against her chest as her wide eyes searched for what had hit the sand. A small movement caught her attention and she turned her weapon on it only to gasp and drop the gun. She could not believe it.

Boba Fett was lying in the sand.

Phalla almost laughed. She could have melted from relief. "Mr. Fett!" she called and started running toward him, happier than she had been in a long time. He was alive and he had come back to save her again!

-x-

Fett recognized that voice. What the _shab_ she was doing out here, he would never know. He did know that she was coming to him, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Stay back!" he barked. He was still dazed from his time in the sarlaac's stomach. It had been _aliit mir'osik_ in there. Not to mention his corroded armor was covered in acidic digestive juices.

She skidded to a stop only three feet from him. "But you need help," she argued until she got a good look (not to mention a good whiff) of him. He was covered in slime and gunk and she could hear a very faint sizzling over his hard breathing.

"Then help me... by staying back," he growled. Phalla gulped and did as he said.

She watched as he carefully shifted to a sitting position. There was a hydraulic hiss/click and the jetpack dropped from his back, hitting the sand with a quiet thud. He pushed it away, trying not to flinch with the pain in his shoulder and ribs. He began removing his armor, tossing away all that had been contaminated by the sarlaac's stomach acids. He frowned at the thought of having to replace his armor. Genuine Mandolorian armor was hard to come by these days. Not to mention he would have to reinstall all of the custom specs and features that had been added to his old armor. More importantly, this armor had belonged to his father... He shook that thought away for now.

Finally, he removed his helmet.

For the first time since meeting him, Phalla was granted the excruciatingly rare privilege to see Boba Fett's face. He certainly was not what she had expected. He was definitely human. In the moon and starlight, she could see his black hair and dark skin, and make out a few scars that adorned his face and neck. He seemed like a whole different person without his Mandelorian armor.

Fett took a deep breath of the tainted desert air. "Alright," he muttered, his voice not quiet as harsh and deep as it had been through his helmet. He had a slight accent that she could not quite distinguish. "You can come here now."

She did not hesitate. She kneeled beside him. "I've got a shelter set up," she informed him and pointed at the over-turned scooner. "Can you walk?"

"Of course I can walk," he retorted then paused. "...but I'll need your help."

"Okay," she said and held out her hand. She realized that now it was her turn to take care of him. She hoped that she could until help found them.

Fett took hold of her arm and pulled himself up. He gritted his teeth against the pain of his broken ribs. He had had broken ribs and dislocated shoulders before, but the way it hurt never got any easier to bear. He put his good arm around Phalla's slim shoulders and they slowly made their way to the tent.

Once they got inside, Fett asked, "Are you hurt at all?"

Phalla shook her head.

"Good." He glanced back at the first-aid box. "Any thick bandages in there?"

She nodded.

"Get one and something to cut off my shirt," he instructed.

She paused. "Cut off your shirt?" she questioned.

"I can't take my shirt off with cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder," he explained stiffly. "Now do it." Actually, he was perfectly capable of doing this sort of thing on his own. He was beginning to wonder why he was letting her care for him like this. _So I am going soft after all,_ he thought. _Kandosii di'kut._ He had grown fond of the girl, there was no denying it.

Phalla did as he instructed, getting a bandage role, a flashlight to see what she was doing, and a small knife from the kit. It was now that Crumb decided to come out of hiding. He had heard Fett speaking and pattered over to investigate. He sniffed the strange man and recoiled, squawking disgustedly. Fett gave the familiar lizard monkey a long stare. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with that," he asked when Phalla came back to him.

Phalla smiled innocently as she turned on the flashlight. "He followed me out of the barge," she explained. "Can I keep 'im?"

"Absolutely not," Fett said matter-of-factly. "Hurry up with that bandage."

Crumb huffed and went back under the blanket. Phalla sat behind the bounty hunter and held the rim of his shirt, fingering the knife uncertainly. "So, just cut it off?"

"Without cutting me as well would be desirable," he answered. He was trying his hardest to be patient with her. It reminded him of when they had first met. Then a thought occurred to him, an utterly stupid and impossible idea that made him look back at her for a moment. Fett knew that he was not going to live forever (his little adventure with the sarlaac had brought that closer to home) and he had no real interest in finding a woman for himself so he had no children, hence no heir.

Maybe, just maybe...

She gulped before beginning to slice through the fabric. She carefully cut all the way from the rim to the top of the collar. She then carefully pulled it off and set it aside. More scars were revealed to her. She could not help but wonder how he had gotten them all. They must have hurt... "Now what?" she asked.

"Wrap the bandage tightly around my chest below my armpits," he instructed.

She did so and she also noticed his right shoulder did not look like it was sitting normally. "What's wrong with your shoulder?"

"It's dislocated. You can't do anything about it," he said, his voice sounding strained. She hoped she had not hurt him more.

"Well, what needs to be done about it?" she asked.

"It would have to be yanked back into place."

"I can do that."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"How do you _know_?"

Fett restrained himself from growling in frustration. He knew that she did not really know what she was doing, but... if she was going to learn, why not start now? This was going to be fun. "Alright," he relented. "Take my wrist and yank forward as hard as you can."

Phalla nodded and carefully took his wrist in both hands. "Just pull?"

"Just _yank_," he corrected, bracing himself.

"Okay, here goes." She held his wrist securely. "Three...two...one!" Phalla yanked hard and there was a loud and sickening pop. Fett allowed himself the luxury of a pained grunt, but that was it. "Did I get it?" she asked. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She smiled, feeling pretty good about herself.

She then remembered the ration bar she had in reserve and got it out of the kit. "Here, you need to eat."

"No. Keep it," he ground out.

"But-"

"I said "keep it"," he said, cutting her off.

Phalla did not know what to do. She knew that he needed to eat some too, but decided to just drop the subject for know. Since Fett was still alive, she doubted that he would want to wait around for Leia's friends to come get them. "So... what do we do know?" she wondered.

That was a good question. "What do you think we should do?" he questioned. He wanted to see how much common sense she had for these kinds of situations.

"Uh..." Why was _he_ asking _her_? Well, she might as well answer. They could stay here and wait for rescue. However, there was no way to tell how long they would be stuck waiting. On the flip side, they could head back to Jabba's palace, but that would take resources that they did not have. They had a shelter here, but they could easily take it with them. Fett was hurt and needed to rest, but he also needed care that she could not give him. They were camped near a sarlaac pit, but the desert scavengers would soon figure out that it was dead and come to feast on the roasting body and discover them here.

Stay or go? Stay or go... "I think that... we should..." What did her parents always tell her? "Stay here and wait for someone to find us," she finished confidently.

Fett had come to the same conclusions as she had. Though he would have chosen to go back to Jabba's palace, he had to think of Phalla's limits. He knew she was not strong enough to journey over the harsh deserts of Tatooine. Not with him in his current condition at this rate. "For this situation, you're right," he said.

Phalla smiled. She hoped that they would not have to wait too long for help.


	14. Unlikely Saviors

**#14 - Unlikely Saviors**

**AN:** To Ayy Kaim: Thank you for your helpful reviews. You could very easily have turned them into rants and I appreciate your tact. I have taken your advice into account and have gone back and edited a few things. I am trying very hard not to make Phalla a Mary Sue and to stay true to Boba's character. However, I feel I must explain my frequent reminders of eye color. Reading other fanfics, I notice that eye color often changes either in shade or into a new color completely as the story progresses. It's like the author just forgets this stuff and doesn't care. This is one my biggest fic-peeves. I know it's not really a big deal, but it is to me.

And do be patient; I haven't forgotten about Dengar.

By the way, it seems that you all are under the impression that Davin is a character that I have created. Do check his name in some Star Wars wiki (preferably in your handy copy of "Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters" by Andy Mangels). He is indeed canon and not mine.

As for the rest of you, thank you for all your encouraging reviews and enjoy this chapter!

In the days that passed, Boba's condition worsened. He grew very sick, but still refused to eat the ration bar that Phalla had saved. However, when she threatened to feed it to Crumb, Boba grudgingly accepted it. It did hardly anything to improve his health, but at least it had not been wasted on the stupid lizard monkey. Crumb was forced to gnaw on the bones of the victims of the barge explosion.

The next day, no one was feeling any better. Phalla had sat up in a sleepless night, watching over Fett and Crumb. Scavengers were beginning to get the idea that the sarlaac was dead and that there was easy food available. Someone needed to stand guard constantly. Fett had stubbornly tried, but collapsed. Phalla had dragged him back into the tent and stolen his rifle. She had no idea how to use it, but that did not stop her from trying.

She sighed as the suns came up. Creatures generally did not come out until nightfall so she could relax. She entered the tent and remembered that she was far from being able to relax. Boba was drenched in sweat that he could not afford to lose. She gasped and fell at his side. "Mr. Fett," she rasped, her voice dry from lack of water. "Can you hear me?"

He did not reply for a long time and she feared he was unconscious. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell lightly... "I'm still here, kid." His own voice was raspier than it had been when filtered through his helmet and very quiet.

Phalla laid the back of her hand on his fore head. He was burning up with a fever. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the emergency kit and rummaged around until she found a tiny booklet with several treatment instructions inside. She had treated his acid burns with bacta patches already, but they must have gotten infected if he was coming down with a fever. Finding what she was looking for, she set to work. "Hold still," she instructed while pealing off the sanitary casing from an antibiotic injector. "This might pinch a bit."

Fett had treated himself countless times before and was used to needles. He was impressed that Phalla was working so hard even though he had pretty much lost hope. No one was coming to rescue them and they could not travel anywhere. Right now, death seemed like a welcome option. Though dying this way was less than desired in Fett's opinion...

Phalla sighed as she watched him fall into a rather listless sleep. She hoped that he would make it until Princess Leia came for them. However, by that evening, things were going from bad to worse.

She was keeping watch while Fett was still sleeping. She was beginning to nod off until she would remember the threat of sand people or other deadly dessert creatures. Then she would be scared awake for about a standard hour. The cycle continued until the moon was high. Phalla finally closed her eyes out of pure exhaustion. She slouched where she sat and Boba's specialized rifle fell against the sand with a muted thud.

Crumb peeked out of the tent at hearing the noise. He observed his mistress fast asleep and the rifle that lie on the sand. He chirped quietly to himself and silently skittered off into the night.

-x-

Crumb soon found out that sneaking out into the dessert in the middle of the night was not exactly a good idea.

He came screeching back to the tent, waking up both Phalla and Boba in the process. Phalla heard Fett hoarsely growl several choice curses in various languages that she did not know. It was not long until she discovered the reason for Crumb's hurried and unexpected return.

Over the farthest sand dune, she spotted about a dozen moving shadows. Her heart nearly froze. She had no idea what the creatures were, but she did not like the looks of them. Worse, they were coming this way.

She scrambled for Fett's blaster and steadied the sawed-off barrel at the group of beasts. At the head of the pack was the largest of them. He was a big brute, bristling with spikes along his hackles. With large, black eyes, he easily picked out Phalla and the tent. He gave a wild howl, echoed by his fellow hunters, and continued the chase anew with the prey sighted.

Phalla's wide eyes grew wider with pure fear. Her slim fingers clutched the blaster with such force that her knuckles turned white. She began to hear the many paws thundering through the sand as the creatures approached. Remembering herself, she held up the weapon and aimed. She hoped beyond hope that this would work. She applied pressure to the trigger...

She was shaken with the recoil and a bright light soared through the air. One of the beasts faltered and tumbled down the dune then lie still. The others did not stop to see what happened. They kept coming. Closer, closer.

Her courage aroused somewhat, Phalla continued firing at the animals. A few more fell by her shots, but there were at least half a dozen left, including the leader, by the time they reached the camp. They surrounded her and the tent, growling and barking and salivating. Phalla dared not move now lest she cause them to jump. Perhaps she could lure them away from Fett if she tried hard enough...

Too late.

The leader was sniffing around the flap of the tent and growled hungrily at the scent of sickness. Phalla slowly brought up the rifle. The leader snapped his gaze upon her, fangs bared. Two others came up at her sides, snarling. She held still, the sights trained on the huge leader. She felt cold sweat dripping down her face and her hands trembled. She knew that they were going to die.

They were all surprised when they heard a loud cry ring out and the tent seemed to explode. Crumb was nowhere to be seen. Phalla caught a flash of metal in the moonlight before she saw the form of Boba Fett. Her eyes widened as he was standing upright, dagger drawn in one hand and a pistol in the other. The leader of the pack howled in surprised fury and agony. Dark blood spattered in the sand. It leaped on Fett, causing the two to topple over, but the dagger buried itself deeply into the beast's chest and he slumped.

Shoving the body aside with a growl, Fett stood again. He glared down at the remaining mas'iffs, the dagger now dripping with their leader's blood. They glanced and whined at one another before fleeing into the night.

With the danger gone, Fett dropped the dagger before collapsing to his knees, exhausted. Phalla in turn dropped the rifle and rushed to his side.

"M-m-mr. Fett, are y-you alright?" she asked shakily, breathless.

He was breathing hard, his body drenched in sweat and the blood of the massif. He did not answer her question. "Save yourself," he said very quietly. "Leave me."

She shook her head. "N-no, I-"

"I said 'leave me'! Run... _ad'ika_..." he growled before his dark eyes rolled to the back of his head and he sank to the ground, unconscious. Phalla would have screamed if she had had the energy. Instead, a rattling moan escaped her dry mouth as the adrenaline began to ware off and exhaustion took over in a wave. She too hit the ground, her heart pounding in her ears and the cool sand sticking to her moist skin.

She had no idea how long before she actually slipped into darkness before she thought she saw a shadow coming towards them. She dismissed it as a dream seeing as she was about to die. First one, then two figures approached them. She felt a sensation of being lifted as darkness engulfed her and she knew no more.


End file.
